Catholic bishops call for welcoming church

VATICAN CITY – Catholic bishops have called for a more welcoming church for cohabitating couples, gays and Catholics who have divorced and civilly remarried, endorsing Pope Francis’ call for a more merciful and less judgmental church.

Bishops from around the world adopted a final document Saturday at the end of a divisive, three-week synod on providing better care for Catholic families.

Israel, Jordan working to ease holy site strain

AMMAN, Jordan – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday that Israel and Jordan have agreed on steps aimed at reducing tensions at a holy site in Jerusalem that have fanned Israeli-Palestinian violence.

“All the violence and the incitement to violence must stop. Leaders must lead,” Kerry told reporters in the Jordanian capital after meeting with King Abdullah II and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

The top U.S. diplomat said the steps include video monitoring and Israel’s reaffirming of Jordan’s special and historic role as custodian of the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif.

3 days to recover dead from French bus crash

PARIS – Investigators examining the fiery crash site in southwest France where a truck and a bus collided say it will take three more days just to recover the charred bodies of the 43 victims.

Col. Patrick Touron of the Criminal Research Institute of the Gendarmerie joined other investigators Saturday on a winding road near the village of Puisseguin, near Bordeaux.

Touron said the cause of Friday’s crash remains unknown, because the truck’s black box is too damaged for data to be immediately recovered.

The Associated Press